Brasserie 1605

I had a quick breakfast here ahead of an event. The hostess was very nice. The food was good, but a bit light relative to the price. The worst was the waiter. He clearly did not want to be in the service business. I had to ask for everything: a spoon for my oatmeal, the check, for him to pick up my check with credit card. Far too much effort required on my part. He’d be better off in construction.
Suggestion to management — bring on folks who want to be in the service business…

Restaurant is in the Crowne Plaza on Broadway.
Nobody except our waiter looked very happy in this establishment. No smiles or happy faces when you walk in. As you wait to get seated for the breakfast buffet, Jorge the host has to go through a hotel list for everyone in line to see if you are telling the truth on getting the discounted breakfast. It is like an interrogation. Why not just have the hotel give you some sort of pass for the breakfast buffet when you check in?
Otherwise the breakfast buffet was fine with standard selections and a Chinese breakfast selection.
The seating is awful, they sit you sideways with other patrons 2 feet away so forget about having an enjoyable private conversation with your wife.

Such a lovely dining room with a great view of Times Square. The utensils are sleek & elegant with live succulent plants on each table. The service is excellent… Very friendly & professional. Some waiters have been here for years & have great pride. Wide range of menu choices & each very delicious. Great flair… just love it here!

A hidden gem in Times Square.
Fantastic location and amazing views from practically every table in the restaurant. The good news is they are rarely busy so you can probably get a table right next to the window and look at the bustling New Yorkers go by.
They’re only open for breakfast/​brunch and lunch. I have only been here for lunch. It’s a winning combination of prices that are not over-​the-​top (very reasonable for Manhattan, especially Times Square) and food that is better than decent.
They have a «power lunch menu,» which is two courses (fixed price) that are served rapidly enough for a business lunch, and the selection is very good. In fact, there’s an appetizer on this «power lunch menu» that isn’t even on the regular menu. It’s their crabcake. I am a crabcake aficionado, and while you can get very good crabcakes at Del Frisco’s or The Palm (both within about two blocks of here), this one is first-​rate, especially with the very tangy remoulade sauce that accompanies – and *way* less expensive than either of those two high-​end places.
It’s a shame not more people know about this place. I think it only stays in business because it’s attached to the hotel. They could use a lot better marketing. They don’t show up on Open Table, if you call for reservation you get a voicemail that they apparently don’t listen to. But the view, the location, and the good food make this place worth it.

I was very pleased with my dining experience at the restaurant. I went before a Off-​Broadway Show and had the Prix Fix menu. The salad was delicious. There were apples, pears, goat cheese, and baby greens in it along with hazelnuts. The Skirt Steak was delicious, but had a little spice kick to it. Very mild. It came with carmelized onions that were very spicy, some baby greens that were also spicy and an amazing rice pilaf. Asparagus was the vegetable and it was delicious. For dessert, I had the Raspberry Sorbet that was to die for. I did find that you could make a delicious drink with the Sorbet and some vodka! I also had the French Onion soup, which I found to be very average, sort of like what you would find in a diner. Great view of Times Square. The ambiance was very nice.

YUCK. Worse food I’ve ever had at a hotel. Everything tasted very funky. Never again.

D&T: Weekdays, Breakfast and Lunch
Party of: 2 – 5
In the mood for: Something in Time Square that isn’t $$$$ and isn’t fast food garbage.
Have had: Bagel and Lox, Onion Soup, Ahi Poke starter, Lobster roll (OMG)
Enjoyed myself: Each and every time
Paid: Less than you think you would
New Yorkers know that Times Sq is far from a cullinary mecca. While there probably are some great eateries around — unless you are in the know you are way more likely to end up at a chain’s flagship location eating something familiar thinking you’re saving money rather than find something good that doesn’t rip you off.
Brasserie 1605 is a must visit for folks visiting Times Sq. The dining room has many great views of Times Sq (especially the M&M store — which can get distracting as an M&M screen saver basically plays nonstop)
As a business luncheon spot it is perfect in its proximity to many midtown businesses, easy access to grand central and Penn station, and the quick service is ideal.
Pros
An upscale experience with upscale service for a good price. Right sized portions — not too big but certainly not too small. Lots of creativity in the flavors of items.
Cons
If you are a tourist and tell people you went here, they will have never heard of it. If you tell a work colleague you went here, they will have never heard of it. If you hope to meet a celebrity chef, you won’t. If none of these concerns apply to you, then you have nothing to worry about.

Didn’t have time before check out to go out for breakfast so went to the Brasserie. Got the eggs benedict and they were very good. The view from the restaurant windows of times square adds to the already great ambiance of the Brasserie!

I was at a conference in NYC at almost never left the hotel (I know, loser!). This place provided room service for me multiple times over the week, and I was very happy with what they delivered.
I also ate in the restaurant once — it was a ghosttown but the service was very warm and attentive.
The food was solid!

If you are younger than 80 this place sucks. Its’ location rocks but the music, decore, mail order bride hostess and «bartender» all suck. I almost feel asleep at the bar.

Had dinner here before a show and the service was great, the food was great and the entire experience was great! I highly suggest the Lobster Mac & Cheese! DELIC!

I ordered from here while staying at the Crown Plaza hotel, since the restaurant is in the building. They allow you to order from here and have the meal delivered to the room. It was absolutely amazing! Hotel food doesn’t usually do it for me, but this was way better than anything I’ve had at a hotel before.

Like Debbie, I used up a
certificate. I wouldn’t come here again for the meals as they were simply average, but the fancy bar food is pretty good.

My friends and I had pre-​Broadway dinner and drinks at Brasserie 1605. The location and $ 30 fixed-​price three-​course dinner is ideal for anyone heading to an evening Broadway show. It’s Times Square, so I was expecting steep prices (even for Manhattan) and tacky chain restaurants. Brasserie 1605 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel was recommended to us as a classy and tasty alternative to the overpriced chaos that are restaurants in Times Square. The atmosphere is beautiful; it’s modern, elegant, and quiet but not obnoxiously quiet (i.e., you can still enjoy laughs with your friends). The view from the window seats is great; you get a glimpse of Times Square. Most importantly, however, the food is phenomenal. There were four of us; two of us ordered from the fixed-​price menu, and the other two were drawn to the main menu. The tuna poke, lobster potstickers, and apple-​beat soup (of the day) were delicious. All of the entrees were excellent (we tasted each others’ food to get the full experience). We had the salmon, flank steak, sea bass, and scallops; the scallops were my favorite. The cheesecake and chocolate molten cake were phenomenal. Service was impeccable (our waiter’s name was Tony), and we were out of there with plenty of time to spare for the show. We’ll be returning to Brasserie 1605 for dinner.

I met with one of my freelance clients who was in town and staying at the hotel. So, we decided to eat there for convenience since our meeting was last minute. I wasn’t excited with the prix fixe (pre-​theatre) menu so I ended up ordering the lump crab cakes, which were okay.
It was a little too dry for me. However, the earthy, sweet flavor of the black beans and sweetness of the pineapple salsa helped to salvage the dish. But, I shouldn’t have to rely on the sauce to make the dish… the meal should speak for itself and the sauces should be a bonus. It was a convenient place to eat since we were both pressed for time. But, I don’t think I’d have gone there if my meeting wasn’t unplanned and late in the evening.
I’ve had better crab cakes, and their dishes are too pricey – clearly representative of the touristy locale and not for any gustatory experience that will have you raving about this place. With that said, the ambiance is nice with a design that is sleek and modern – possibly a cool spot to stop for drinks (at the bar and longue area) before heading to a Broadway show, or after one – is Spider-​Man still running?

The restaurants location is ideal for the average tourist. Unfortunately the food never measured up. The menu us way over priced… I really wanted to love it, but didn’t

Decent (overpriced) food with terrible service.
I made a reservation for 11:30 on Open Table (which they never confirmed so no points for me) and from the moment we showed up the waiter seemed very annoyed with us. «We’re right between breakfast and lunch so I’m going to have to see if I can find a menu.»
Ok…
10 minutes later we finally have menus but have to wait another 10 min to get drinks. The food is well presented but nothing special. Oh and drinks are $ 3 a pop and they are in no hurry to offer refills.
Bottom line is its a tourist trap for those staying in the hotel, don’t bother even if they are on
.

Overpriced food in a trendy restaurant. Definitely has great views of times square. If you just want a quick breakfast with average food then eat here. I’ve definitely had better even for hotels.

5 stars for atmospher. Clean modern fancy restuarant with great views of NY Time Square.
5 Stars for customer service. Waiter was attentive and there were 3 people who attended you. The first person filled your drinking glass and brought over some bread. I especially like the foccocia bread with the tomato and olive. The second person was the waiter took your order and recommended dishes. The third person was the restaurant manager who welcomed you to the restaurant. My friend and I were treated like VIP and we enjoyed all the attention but some times it got a bit annoying because just about every 5 minutes, they’d come and ask how everything was. My friend laughed and said we can eat our meal in peace. Haha!
3 stars for the food. We ordered the theater menu special which was 3 course meal for $ 25. We ordered a House Salad, Skirted Steak with Asparagus and rice, and Gelato.
I had better salads at fast food restaurant. It was Mediterranean Mix salad bag you find at super market, throw in some chopped pears. What made this salad special was roasted hazel nuts. The dressing was lemony which really didn’t go well. I would recommend a Raspberry dressing to make a bit sweet and tangy.
As for the Skirted steak, it was a thin piece of rough beef. It wasn’t the best cut and it had a lot of tendons running through the small piece of meat. The sauce that was on top of it tasted like ketchup with onions. It tasted good but I expected more from this fancy restaurant.
As for the Gelato, it was Delicious! I got the Mango and my friend got the Lemon. The lemon was way too sour and bitter so we shared mines instead.
I had a
gift certificate and on the cert. it requires the server to add on gratuity tip 18.5%. Furthermore, NYC has a SERVICE CHARGE of 18.5% mandatory. Basically, I got a double whammy. The waiter got a 37% tip! No wonder he was so extra nice!
The food is average at best. Friendly service but I wonder if I got screwed at the end. :)

We went here for pre-​theater dinner w/​a
certificate. We were pleasantly surprised. The view of Times Sq was nice. The service was quick and courteous. It was a large and comfortable space. Just surprising that it was somewhat empty for a Friday theater night. A bit of a touristy feel at first, has to do w/​the fact it’s in Time Sq and in a hotel, but the food was definitely not touristy.
I had the 1605 signature salad and the crab cake entrée. The salad was tasty and well constructed, but small on portion size. The crab cake was the best crab cake I ever had, even better than Obrycki’s in Baltimore, chock full of crab, not much filler at all, and good blend of spices. My friend had the onion soup, the grilled watermelon salad, and the mac/​cheese. The onion soup was decent, good amount of cheese and the bread had still a crunchy edge, but soup base a tiny bit on the salty side. The watermelon salad was pretty on the plate, tasty, but again, small portioned for its price. The mac/​cheese was ok; the cheese they used was overly pungent. If they just stuck w/​a nice cheddar, it would have been better. The neighboring table ordered the chicken pot pie and the skirt steak; both looked delicious.
I would definitely go back for the crab cake and maybe try the pot pie.
The prices are affordable for each item, btwn $ 14 – 32. If you just want to order one thing, avoid the salads; they won’t be filling. But if you’re going to order more than one thing, then it can easily be over $ 30/​person. The
certificate definitely helps. They also have a pre-​theater prix-​fix 3 courses for $ 25 that seems like a good deal.